


A Mask of My Own Face

by BeeBumbleRosebud



Category: The Property of Hate
Genre: Basically just a nice lil epilogue, DadGB, Everyone is human again, Fluff, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, I have no clue how many chapters this thing will end up having, It’s really just an absurd amount of fluff, I’m just havin’ a good ol’ time, Overtimulation, Sensory Overload, The Property of Hate - Freeform, it is soft, tpoh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:07:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29131545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeeBumbleRosebud/pseuds/BeeBumbleRosebud
Summary: The problem with a mask is that eventually, you can’t take it off.All those small things you try to cover up. How much you care. How sad you really are. That you aren’t “just tired”. Not in the literal sense. A sort of tired that goes deeper than just needing sleep. A deeper need. A need for catharsis. For some kind of sign that you’re on the right path.The pile of bodies behind him said otherwise.It builds up like plaster. The mask either cracks, or it soaks it’s way into your pores. Becoming a sort of exoskeleton. A defense mechanism.One that he was still learning to peel off. Little by little. Scraping away at the odds and ends of what used to be him. All with the help of a little girl, and his new family.
Relationships: Hero (The Property of Hate) & Everyone, RGB & Hero (TPoH)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 13





	1. Scars of being a Hero

RGB knelt on the ground, closed around Hero like a vibrant outer layer. His sketch peeking through. She clutched him back as the bright white light enveloped their surroundings. Brighter than bright. Brighter than looking directly into all four suns at once. 

It tore at his being. Clawing at his core. At the mask. At the plastic casing of his head. Red blue and yellow leaking out of him like a torn envelope. 

Suddenly, Hero was no longer against him. She wiggled her way through his cage-like arms, and grabbed his head with both hands. Tilting it up so that he was face to face with her. 

“——-!” Her face was desperate, but her voice was ripped away from her as soon as it left her throat. Cast into the sheer vastness of the imploding world around them. 

“————?” He asked. Of course, nothing came out of his speakers. 

“I’m——-ero!! I have—try!!” Her voice tore desperately at the air as she resisted the last bit of Hate left. 

RGB looked at her. At the bright white. At where the people would be if he were able to see them. He looked back at her. His hands reached up to grab her face now, mirroring what she was doing to him. Blue dripped onto the hard ground in front of him. He wiped away a stray tear with a gloved thumb. 

Her eyes were glossy with a mix of stubbornness, determination, and love. For her friends. For her guide. 

She had to try. 

And he knew. He knew there was no other way out. She was the Hero, after all. He knew this would happen. Isn’t this what he wanted? To save the world?

But now, he also wanted to save her. He always had. But she was scraping away at the hard outer shell of his and it was impossible to not care now. He had definitely become attached. And now he had to pay the price. 

One he was more than willing to pay. 

He nodded. Then released her. Trembling hands lowering to his sides as knelt. He had never felt so small and pitiful in his life. 

Until Hero leapt towards him. Wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing with as much ferocity as a little girl could. Burying her face in his shoulder. 

His hands hovered for a second. 

Just let her go. 

A lump formed at the back of his throat. 

You’ve kept her in this nightmare long enough. 

He swallowed the sob that wanted to claw its way up his throat. And instead, returned the embrace with as much ferocity, yet gentleness as he could. Trying his best not to soak her hair with blue. 

He could tell she was crying, but was trying to hold it back. He went to remind her not to hold it in. That the only way to heal is to open up. But the noise seemed to fall flat in front of him. 

He finally brought himself to pull away. It hurt his heart. A hot festering pit of emotion pooled tight in his stomach as he took one final look at her tear stained, yet smiling face. 

She took his screen in her hands once more, and planted a kiss on the top of the casing. What would be a forehead if he had one. 

A hideous, yet splendid cocktail of colors trailed down his screen. He smiled a wobbly smile. Test bars at the bottom of the screen shaky and uncertain. 

The only way to beat Hate, was the opposite. 

Love. 

Finally, she turned. And leapt into the great light. 

—————————

She gasped as she awoke. Clinging to her blanket as she heaved for air. It was just a dream. Or, it was? Now it was. Then, it wasn’t. But that didn’t matter. She was here. She was safe. 

Despite her reassurances to herself, she couldn’t shake the image of it from her head. The bright light. Her friend very clearly crying with all that blue coming down his face. 

Slowly, she crept out of her bed. Her toes tingling at the cold wooden tiles. Careful not to wake the sleeping Assok in the bed across from hers. The house got especially cold in the middle of the night. One that Madras made, more suitable for the “real” world. Hero, of course, still had the previous one, “the house of paint”, rolled up neatly on her nightstand. 

After she had jumped into the light to finally ward off any last bit of Hate that plagued that story, all with love, she had returned back to her room. She had checked her nose, her hands, all normal. Except for her hair, which was still white. A design accommodation this world could actually keep without bending the rules too much. Though she still moved with a certain animated-ness. One could almost see smear frames if she moved too fast. 

Her parents didn’t remember her. She had cried for a long while after that. She was no longer who she was before. She grieved it all. Her life. Her parents. Her self. 

She had wandered the world for a while. A nebulous space in between two stories she no longer belonged in. Going from foster home to foster home, looking for some sign of them. Of the only people she really knew anymore. If they were even in this world, that was.

Until one day, she was told that she had been adopted. Which was sudden. She really wasn’t even all that excited. She had just left her precious foster home, who could possibly want to just-adopt her right away??

A man stood in the foyer of the building. Square jaw, sharp nose, and curly blonde locks that tumbled down behind his ears. Barely covered by the boater hat atop them. A tacky, colorful suit with cheap spats and gloves that fiddled nervously with the end of a bamboo cane. 

They locked eyes. For a moment, everything stopped. The whole world screeched to a halt. Then crumbled. She ran at him as he opened his arms, eyes puffy with tears. He caught her and spun her around, clinging to each other as if the other would disappear should they let go. In their defense, that is what happened last time they saw each other.

And for the first time in a while, he felt another part of that plaster crumble. Shattering as it hit the floor. They laughed and cried as they inspected each other. Hero adjusting his hat, and patting down his suit. RGB pinching her cheeks and ruffling her hair. Just to be sure they were real, that it wasn’t all some cruel joke the world had decided to play on them.

When the papers were signed, and everything in order, she was brought back out into another group of people, still clinging to RGB like a koala. Each one of them familiar in their own way. Human, but distinctly themselves. The stern, yet kind eyes of Julienne. The soft, stocky frame of Melody. The lanky beanpole that was Dial. The voice of TOby. The scars on Tailor, the glasses of Tinker. The echoing voice of Assok.

It was them. It was her family. 

And now, she was here with them all. Comfortable and loved. 

Save for the nightmares. 

She tiptoed down the hall, and descended the staircase. She padded into the room on her right. The kitchen. Popping a mug of milk into the microwave and fiddling with the seams on her night shirt as she waited. 

A figure emerged from the living room to the left of the staircase. Walking past it and into the kitchen as well, investigating the noise. 

RGB cocked an eyebrow at the sight of Hero in the kitchen at-

-he glanced at the clock.

3:15 AM.

“Hero? What in heaven's name are you-“

She jumped at the sound. Both at his voice, and at the microwave alarm. She quickly opened the door to stop it, and gingerly took the mug. Her small hands shaking.

She jumped a little too much.

He said nothing, but walked closer so he was just standing next to her. She hoisted herself up onto the countertop, and drank from the glass, swinging her feet off the edge. 

They stood in silence for a few moments. Though it wasn’t awkward. Just being in each other’s presence.

RGB was the first to speak. “Might I ask: what are you doing up so late?”

Hero stared at the tiled floor for a moment. And didn’t look back up when she mumbled the answer.

“...I had a nightmare.”

“Another?”

She nodded, her shoulders tensing to her ears. 

“...Mind telling me what it was about?”

She took a deep breath, then finally met his gaze once more. 

“It was The End. Y’know, back in the world of make believe? And...and you were...you looked so sad-and I was so scared-and” her breathing increased rapidly. Becoming shallow and strangled. 

RGB lowered himself to look her in the eyes, which were now clamped shut to hold back any tears. 

“Hero, it’s okay. I’m here. We’re all here, and we’re safe, okay? It’s all okay. Breathe. Remember?”

She nodded, and they went through the breathing exercises Melody had taught her. In for 5, hold for 7, out for 8, repeat. 

“May I touch you?” RGB asked once her breathing was steady enough to continue on it’s own.

She nodded almost immediately, and RGB took one of her hands in both of his. Rubbing patterns over the knuckles with a thumb. She wiped her eyes with a sleeve and sniffled before moving her other hand to cover his. Making a sort of hand-sandwich. 

It had grown to be a sort of tradition of theirs. A way to silently communicate that “I’m here.” And even if it’s not spoken, “I love you”. 

“I hate feeling this way.” Hero hiccuped. 

“I know. Me too. An adventure like that is...important. Maybe even fun, at times. But certain moments leave scars. Even in this world, plenty of things happen that leave people feeling just like you.” He poked her nose playfully, earning him a small giggle in return. 

Hero looked at the scar that was still on her right knee. 

“You can’t really make scars go away, though! What if...what if it never stops hurting?”

RGB Pondered this for a moment. Following her gaze to her knee. 

“They may not disappear. But, they fade. Sometimes they reopen, and sometimes they hurt. But they always eventually heal back over. Even if they don’t disappear completely. Eventually, it’ll hurt less. And it’ll be easier to manage.” He brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. 

She sniffled, and stretched her arms toward him. He scooped the Hero up, and half-cradled her as he walked to the living room. Sitting down on the couch as Hero situated herself comfortably in his lap. 

It appeared he had already been in there for quite a while before she came down. As the fireplace was still going. Warm crackles filled the ambient air. The house smelled of firewood and old books. Like a library, Hero thought to herself. 

“...Thanks RGB.”

He chuckled softly. “Of course, Hero.”

They sat like that for a long time. Time rolling past them with practiced ease. Until that thought popped in her head again. Surfacing like a bubble in the mire. 

“How long were you up for?” 

She was met with silence, and glanced up to see if he was still awake. He was. 

“...A bit. Just couldn’t sleep is all.”

“Do you have nightmares too?” 

He felt his heart drop in his stomach, and shifted nervously. Picking and choosing the right words that wouldn’t leave too heavy a weight on the little girl’s shoulders. Tripping and stumbling over an entire dictionary that didn’t seem to fit quite right. “Sometimes, yes,” was all he could come up with. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” She asked. 

She was so- kind. He had always worried that it was just that that would get her killed. That world wasn’t all that forgiving to it’s inhabitants, but it somehow always found a way to repay her sheer kindness. 

He shook his head ever so slightly. 

“That’s okay then! We can just chill here for now.”

She turned back around, and leaned back into him and the warmth of the fire in front of them. As the fire danced in the air, her eyelids gradually became so heavy, that she could no longer hold them open.


	2. Breakfast and Banter (2 Things That Go Surprisingly Well Together)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group wakes up, and takes every opportunity to roast each other in the process.

The morning sunlight filtered the room in a thin layer of gold, burning the dust in the air to glitter. Beams of the light separated through the blinds in rays. The smell of pancakes wafted through the air. 

Hero opened her eyes to find that she was still on the couch. The fire had long since burned out. All that remained was a dull black settled in the bottom of the fireplace. Orange and red embers still threaded through the cracks in the coals. 

When she stirred, she was covered in a blanket with a pillow tucked neatly underneath her head. Quiet chatter laced itself in the air. Two voices. 

She turned and peered over the edge of the couch into the kitchen. TOby sat in his wheelchair at the stove, emptying a bowl of batter into a pan. Dial sat in the kitchen. More specifically, on the table instead of the chairs. He could never sit anywhere normally. He was always a lanky pretzel on whatever surface he decided to place himself on. 

“Well looky who’s up bright an’ early!” Dial chimed. 

Hero padded into the kitchen sleepily. Her mind still in the hazy twilight between sleep and wakefulness. Dial ruffled her hair as she leaned on the table, face down. 

“G’mornin…” The phrase was muffled and slurred from her face being squished against the wood. 

“Someone was talking too loud.” TOby remarked, not turning away from the stove as he grabbed a spatula and flipped a pancake.

“Aww shucks- I’m sorry darlin’! Did I-?”

“No, no, I was already awake!” 

“Or she’s just saying that to preserve your enormous ego.”

“Oh, she would never!” 

“Mmhmm.” The sarcasm in his voice was tangible. 

The sound of footsteps above them preluded the entrance of Melody as she descended the stairs. 

‘Good morning, Hero!’ She signed. 

Hero ran to hug her, which she returned in full. Strong arms closing around her like a weighted blanket. She was a lot shorter than Hero imagined she would be, but still quite a bit taller than her. What she lacked in height, she made up for in strength. She was also an avid French horn player. 

Julienne appeared behind her. Graceful and agile as a bird. Dark skin reflecting the golden dawn streaming through the window. Planting a kiss on the top of her wife’s head, which she towered over. 

TOby rolled over to the table they were congregated at with a plate stacked with pancakes. 

“Dial, would you get the syrup?”

“What’s the magic word~?” Dial sang, a cheesy grin plastered on his face. TOby shot him a poison glare, then sighed. Slouching in his chair. 

“ _ Please.”  _ He made sound remarkably like a “If you don’t I’ll kick you out of the house”.

“‘Course doll!” 

While they were all busying themselves setting the table, two more figures made themselves present. Tinker and Tailor. The latter coming down much earlier than the former. Tinker took to retrieving the dishes with Hero while Tailor stuck their nose in a mirror. Fixated on getting that stray hair to stay in place. Hero ran over, and offered to help. They gratefully accepted. 

“Why, thank you dear!” They said, leaning down for Hero to reach more easily. 

It was about her second month with them all. In a house that seemed much bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. Madras really made sure to account for everything. Most mornings she would be hurried off to school. All of the residents bickering playfully over who got to take her that day. She liked to imagine them doing the same before picking her up. She would have to try and muffle the snicker that broke free in the middle of her last class of the day. 

But not today. It was Sunday, so she didn’t have to worry about waking up super early, or hustling to class. She liked these days the most out of them all. 

It took them a while to get accustomed to all living in the same house, they had said. Though, when she arrived they all seemed to get along just fine. They said they had spent a good long while looking for her. Madras also helped them out some with that. Given her uncanny knowledge of seemingly innocuous things. Time really was always on her side. But she went to go find her story somewhere else not long after. Of course, she always visited. Whether it be in the doodles on the back of Hero’s worksheets, or the picture frames on the walls. 

“Is RGB  _ still  _ asleep?” Tailor asked, standing up straight once Hero pat them once on the head to signal she had finished. 

“I think so? I’ll go check on him.”

“That dweeb better be down here, or else we’ll eat without him.” Tailor laughed. 

Hero giggled, and nodded before ascending the staircase. Still cast in deep shadow. 

She did as she was taught in the World of Make Believe. She closed her eyes, and listened. 

The pitch black hallway no longer seemed so dark as she made her way to the second to last door. RGB’s door. 

It was still wide open, so she crept inside to the figure laying on the bed. She peered over his shoulder, when he shifted and turned toward her. 

“I know you’re there, Hero.” 

“I know that you know.”

“I know that you know that I know.”

“Oh yeah? Well I know that you know that I know that you know. Ha!”

RGB chuckled, then sat up completely. 

“Alright, you got me. Are the others awake?”

Hero nodded, still smiling. 

“Hmm. I should make them wait a bit longer.”

Hero playfully swatted at him. “No, you  _ dork  _ we’re  _ hungry!” _

“If you insist!” He put his hands up in a defensive gesture, but he was still smiling as he stood. 

Hero took him by the hand and pulled him out of the room and down the stairs. Wincing at the sudden light that filled her eyes. 

“Still need a child for an alarm clock?” Julienne crossed her arms as she sat at the table.

RGB gave her a sly smirk. “Still need a wife for an alarm clock?” 

She rolled her eyes. Melody though, tried, and failed to hide the snicker that left through her nose. 

Julienne stared wide eyed in offense. “Melody!”

‘What? It  _ is  _ funny!’ She signed.

“It’s okay, Julienne. I have to get  _ this  _ one up every morning. We all have an alarm clock” TOby elbowed Dial, who elbowed him back. 

Tinker shot a look at Tailor, who looked around the room. 

“Wha-?  _ Me?!” _

Tinker nodded, laughing silently to himself and prodding at a pancake with a fork. Tailor tore off a small corner of their pancake, smushed it into a pea sized ball, and flicked it across the table at Tinker. Hitting him square in the forehead. 

“Oh, hell- can we  _ not  _ throw food at the table??  _ Again??” _ TOby said. 

Another pea-sized ball of pancake bounced off between his eyes. 

“You’re no fun!” Dial smirked. 

Everyone sat in silence for an unbearably long moment. TOby closed his eyes, and inhaled sharply. His arm quickly shot out and flicked the ball back at Dial. 

“Yes!!” Tailor shot up and cheered. 

“ _ That’s it though! No more.”  _ He feigned annoyance. But when his eyes found his plate again he was smiling. 

Tailor sunk back in their chair and finally actually took a bite of their food. RGB and Hero looked at each other while trying to stop laughing. He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose while Hero just straight up smacked her forehead with a hand while doubling over on the table. Barely any noise, but shoulders hitching and the simmering of quiet snickers.


	3. Clicking Into Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone familiar appears. Human again for the first time in a long time.

He stumbled down the street. Tripping over air with legs that weren’t his. Seeing with eyes that weren’t supposed to be there. The only thing that remained was his bright red soldier uniform. Which led many people to stop and stare. 

He leaned on the sides of buildings in order to stay upright with hands. Actual, fleshy hands. He was alive. Oh  _ gods  _ he was  _ alive _ again. 

After what felt like decades of wading through the blankness. What little was left of Hate wouldn’t let him go. Not until She was gone. She was punishing him. Making him pay for failing. 

So he drifted. Fading in and out of consciousness in an empty void. Occasionally, he could feel her fading eyes on him. Piercing through him like thousands of needles all at once. Pinning him in place. God forbid he even tried to move so much as a finger. The perpetual pain never seemed to cease. And trying to escape only made it worse. 

It wasn’t just his physical form, though. His  _ mind  _ hurt. His  _ feelings  _ hurt. His very  _ existence  _ hurt. 

He just wanted it to stop. 

And then, he was here. All at once. Her grasp loosened as She phased into nothingness. Slipping through her fingers like sand. 

There was light. And sound. And people, and places, and-

Was that a heartbeat?

It was. It most certainly was. It was loud in his ears and his head felt like someone had just done it in with a sledgehammer. And  _ kept at it,  _ too. 

He had no idea how long he was curled into a ball on the ground for. Numerous people that walked by what looked like a park had stopped and tried to help him. 

_ Touched him.  _

And it  _ hurt again. It all hurt again and he couldn’t get away from it because now there were more people and they were all so close and so loud and- _

_ He had to get out of here.  _

——————————————

Hero and Assok worked together on a coloring book in the living room. Taking to adding their own little drawings next to the ones shown. Occasionally, one of the others would peek over their shoulders, and complement it. Dial even joined in on the coloring. And, get this, actually convinced  _ TOby _ to, as well. 

RGB laughed when we walked into the room and saw them all huddled in a circle around the book. Crayons and colored pencils strewn all over the place. 

“You are  _ ridiculous,  _ cousin.” 

“What, are you jealous o’ my  _ masterful  _ coloring skills?” He leaned back from the drawing to allow the man to see from his angle. 

“I wouldn’t say I’m exactly  _ jealous  _ of your ability to somehow color anywhere but inside the lines.”

“Lines are for losers!” Hero perked up, adding another little flower to the soon-to-be-masterpiece. 

“Lieens arr fer looooooos-ers!” Assok mimicked. Hero gave them a fist bump. 

TOby, however, was meticulously coloring inside the lines. Contrasting Dial’s quick gestural scribbles. 

“Wanna join?” Hero asked. 

“Unfortunately, I have some errands to run. And Tailor is-er...getting rather  _ impatient.”  _ He nodded behind him, and sure enough Tailor stood with crossed arms. Raising their eyebrows at him expectantly and jabbing a thumb at the door. 

“Would any of you like to come with?”

Oooh, another  _ adventure!  _ Hero looked to the coloring assistants around her for their approval. Assok and Dial gave a thumbs up. TOby was too focused on his part of the picture to notice anything was even going on. 

She hopped up, and dumped her handful of utensils next to Assok, who beamed up at her. 

“Keep an eye out on ‘em while I’m gone, okay? I’ll be back to put the finishing touches!” She was talking about TOby and Dial. Assok gave a playful salute, and Hero ran to join RGB out the door. 

They walked down to the market nearby, picking up a few groceries. On the way home, something-no-some _ one  _ caught her eye. On the other side of the street. A limping soldier in a red uniform. He was squinting at the light and wincing every time someone walked past him. 

She inhaled sharply as her heart pounded against her rib cage. She must’ve stopped walking at some point, because RGB was walking back towards her when she finally tore her eyes away. He was saying something, but she couldn’t hear him. All she could hear was the sound of the canon. The gun. The hole that was once in her guides’ shoulder. She was being wrenched up by the back of her sweater. Inspected by blank holes where eyes should be. 

RGB put a hand on her shoulder. “Hero? Are you alright? What-?” His own eyes landed on the soldier. His mind must’ve done the same thing Hero’s just did because he froze. His limbs went completely rigid and stiff. He quickly ushered Hero behind him. His knuckles were white on the basket in his other hand. 

The soldier glanced at the pair. Looked back in front of him, then did a double take back at them again. He put a shaking hand up to shield his eyes from the sun, squinting at them as they came into focus. 

That face. That was definitely-

The Hero. And by the looks of those tacky spats and suit, 

His Killer. RGB. The man who murdered  _ “him”.  _

But- he was human too? Maybe he could help. Maybe he knew what was going on. He didn’t  _ care  _ anymore he just needed someone,  _ anyone  _ to help. 

He was walking toward them now. Barely dodging the cars on the street as he fumbled toward them. RGB took Hero’s hand, and began to run. Groceries forgotten. 

Hero looked back as her legs pumped as fast as they could. He was still after them. Clutching his head and clumsily staggering. He…

He looked like he was hurt-?

Hero slowed down to a jog. Then a walk. Then stopped. RGB nearly fell back at the sudden tug of his hand as Hero stopped. Looking at the man chasing after them. 

RGB tugged her hand.

“Hero, he- I- we have to  _ go. Now! Come on!”  _

Hero shook her head, looking back at RGB. 

“He looks like he’s hurt! We-we can’t just  _ leave  _ him like that!”

RGB stopped too, now. And stared anxiously at the man. 

“Hero, he tried to  _ kill. Us.  _ What on Earth makes you think that he wouldn’t try to do so  _ again?”  _

“And we got out! If he does, we’ll do the same thing this time! Just this once,  _ trust me!”  _

RGB went stiff again. Fingers twisting themselves into a knot. 

“...Alright. Alright. Just- stay behind me.”

Hero nodded curtly, and followed his instructions. 

The man shuffled over, breathing heavily. He tripped over his own feet, and landed on hands and knees in front of them. Not lifting his head to look them in the eye. 

“ _ Please- Help me. Ple...please, I- I don’t know what’s going on, and I-“  _

RGB studied him. Blue eyes flitting wildly around. At him, at a possible route of escape. Back at him, then for another possible way out. 

“...Click? You’re...You’re  _ here?  _ But- We didn’t see you when we got here, we thought- when you were in the sea?” 

Click wordlessly shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t- I don’t  _ know _ -“

“Hey, hey, take it easy, what happened? How are you-?” RGB actually knelt down on a knee, lowering his voice. It was surprisingly gentle, given how tense he actually was. 

For a brief moment, RGB thought this was his second chance. To finally apologize. To make things right. To not tiptoe around the issue, make excuses. Maybe he could finally say all that he wanted to say to his previous hero, but couldn’t. Didn’t get the chance to. 

Maybe Click would get the revenge he always wanted before any of that could happen. 

He flinched when Click sat back on his knees, still bracing himself with his hands on the concrete beneath him. 

“It was Her. She kept me there because I didn’t- I couldn’t get to you guys in time, and I failed, and- And then she died. For good. And- and now I’m here? And- I don’t know where I am,  _ who I am-  _ I just want it to stop-“ 

“I know. I know, I was the same way. It’s okay.” RGB relaxed just the slightest bit. Another piece of the hard layer he put around himself fell. Clawed away at the sight of one of his heroes- one that  _ he  _ had failed, one that had previously wanted so badly to see him dead. To see him killed by the current Hero. It was only fair- now trembling in front of him again. Begging, pleading for help. Again. 

RGB looked around, then back to Click. 

“Here, we’re gonna get you somewhere with less light, okay?”

Click paused for a moment. Then nodded. 

RGB hoisted him up and slung one of Click’s arms over his shoulders. Hero ran to his aid. Giving Click another vantage point to lean on. 

“Where can we take him?” Hero asked. 

“...I don’t think the others will like it. But it’s the only place we got.”


	4. The Consequences of Being Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Click deals with the overwhelming reality that he, and everyone he once knew, is alive. And even more overwhelmingly, the sensations that come with being alive. 
> 
> (Please note that this chapter has depictions overstimulation and sensory overload. Take care of yourselves folks, and skip this chapter if the topic is triggering or makes you uncomfortable in any way! have a lovely day <3)

RGB fumbled with the doorknob, not bothering to knock. Hoping they could wordlessly slip him into a room without the others noticing. 

They did. 

Or at least one of them did. They could hear Julienne shout, “Coming!” At the persistent jiggling of the handle. Assuming he just needed help carrying the groceries in. 

_ Ohhhhh right. They were gonna kill him for that too. Not just the murder soldier. That’s two strikes for him today. Three if you count the Tailor encounter. In other words: Not Good.  _

“Ah- no, no! I’ve got it! Hero’s helping me today!” He yelled, voice cracking with nerves. He cleared his throat as his ears went red from embarrassment. 

Hero tip-toed over to a window and peered through. Her eyes widened at the sight of Julienne peering over the couch from the living room. She looked back to RGB and Click and hurriedly mouthed, “Back door! Back door!” Waving him away from the front door with a spastic arm. 

RGB adjusted Click on his shoulder, and began to shuffle away. 

When the door creaked open. Stopping him in his tracks. 

Julienne cocked her head at the scene. Eyes squinting, then widening. Glazing over in horror. 

“Is that-?”

RGB Sighed and hung his head. Nodding. 

She took a step back, partially hiding her figure behind the door, but continued to survey Click. The way he winced at her voice. The way his free hand opened and closed in some desperate attempt to rid his body of the lightning that felt like it was shooting through it. Like an overwhelmed generator with too much power going in at once. He looked so…

Tired. 

Julienne hefted a breath, and opened the door completely. A silent invitation. One that RGB was stunned at. 

“Oh, I’m still angry with you. Just- we’ll deal with that later. Now stop gaping like that and get him inside.” 

Hero ran to Click’s side again and helped RGB. Going through a mental list from her own experience. 

_ The bathroom would echo too much. Cold tiles too. Living room has too much access to too many people who would probably freak out before they could notice what was really going on...A bedroom would probably be best. She didn’t want to bother Assok if they were in their room though. So that left- _

“Are you okay if we bring him in your room for now?” Hero asked. 

RGB nodded, and began to help him up the stairs as silently as possible. 

Hero closed the door behind them, leaving the lights off as RGB gently set Click down on the ground. He promptly began rocking back and forth ever so slightly. His breathing steadying somewhat as his senses started to pull themselves back together and out of the shambling heap they seemed to be tangled in. The movement helped. 

“Do you need some space or do you want us to stay here?” RGB asked. 

“...You can stay.” He pointedly avoided saying that he  _ wanted  _ them to stay, per se. But, having them there was...not exactly the worst thing in the world, he supposed. 

“What’s...What’s  _ happening  _ to me??” He whispered. Even then his words still burned trails in his mind. Leaving them to linger like smoke long after he had said them. His tongue felt thick and awkward in his mouth. After all, it hadn’t been there for quite some time. 

“Overstimulation. Happened to all of us.  _ Still  _ happens. It’s completely normal. Especially now.”

“ _ Still happens??  _ You’re saying this is gonna  _ keep  _ happening?” 

RGB shrugged. “To some people, yes.”

“Happens to me a lot.” Hero made sure to keep her voice quiet and gentle. Following RGB’s example. “Even before The World of Make Believe. It sucks, but yeah. It happens.”

Click exhaled again through his mouth, puffing out his cheeks. 

“I...Why are you…Why am I…?”

“Human?” Hero supplied. 

Click nodded. 

RGB sighed, and scratched the back of his head. “Well, we’re not sure, exactly. She was the one keeping us all in that in between. A story between stories, one might say. But now that she’s gone, we returned to our old world. Somehow  _ alive  _ again, but logic is the  _ least  _ of our concerns at this point-“ Click inhaled through his teeth at the incessant rambling, and RGB clamped his mouth shut. Which he almost never did, except for now. 

It felt like his own  _ skin  _ was an itchy, uncomfortable sweater. It wasn’t as bad now, though. 

RGB pressed his lips to a thin line as he studied Click for nth time. The fact that he was human again, he looked like  _ himself  _ again, it punched him in the gut. Exactly how he looked when he had first been asked the question. That god awful question. 

_ Would you like to be a hero? _

Those same eyes had lit up. That same head had nodded. He wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out. To turn invisible. To do  _ something.  _ But, as usual, he froze. Like the coward he was. Stuck in the past, and in the future all at once. The “had beens”, and the “what ifs”. Had he not asked the poor fellow, he wouldn’t have gone through the torment that he did. What if he really  _ did  _ seek to carry out whatever revenge plan he had in mind this time. Not that he didn’t deserve it. But what if he went after Hero instead? His friends? 

Had he not been so  _ stupidly and dangerously optimistic, he wouldn’t have to worry about those things in the first place.  _

Hero stole a glance at her guide in the dark. Noticing his oddly distant eyes and that weird thing he did with his fingers. It looked like it hurt, sometimes. The way he squeezed them and tangled them together. She scooted over, and pat him on the shoulder. His brightness in his eyes returned, though perpetually tired. But he was  _ here  _ again. Back in the present, where he belonged. He gave her a small smile. 

“...What about the others? Are they...y’know.” 

Hero nodded excitedly. “Yeah! They’re all human too, when you feel like it, you should come say hi!”

“...Won’t they...I dunno- hate me? Be angry with me?” 

“Maybe,” said RGB. “ But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Trust me, I’ve seen the worst of it when it comes to them. They’ll very likely be more angry at  _ me  _ than you.” 

Click didn’t say anything in response. His rocking had slowed down quite a bit, but they could tell that it would just come back in full force if they brought him out now. So they sat together in silence, in the dark. Preparing themselves for whatever fate awaited them downstairs. 

Going through all those scenarios in his head took far too much energy for RGB right now. So instead, he pondered the past again. What had already happened. 

_ The bright light was replaced with a somehow brighter light. Searing into his mind. The first thing he saw: his bare wrist between his glove and his suit jacket. He ripped the jacket off, flinging it to the side and desperately rolling up his sleeves.  _

_ That. That was most certainly skin.  _

_ He felt his face. His  _ face.  _ He had one! He shook it to try and clear the mounting dizziness, but that only made it much worse. He blinked hard while trying to look at his surroundings. Until he felt a pain in his chest.  _

_ Oh.  _ Oh.  _ Ow. That hurt- Oh geez! What in heavens name- It felt like someone had just placed an anvil on his lungs and- _

_ Lungs. He wasn’t breathing. Did he even remember how to? Certainly not involuntarily, but still. Something to do with the diaphragm, and-  _

_ He sucked in a breath. Immediately coughing at the air that scratched at his throat and filled his lungs, at long last. He practically gulped the air down now. A rising heartbeat filled his ears like a pounding drum. Gaining in tempo.  _

_ So many sensations fought for his attention at once. His collar was too tight around his neck. His hair tickled incessantly at the nape of his neck. He ripped his gloves off and threw them on the ground, running both hands through the hair on his head to try and get it off his forehead. But immediately retracted them at the sensation of, who would have guessed it,  _ hair. 

_ But instead of going away, it felt like it stuck to his hands. Like his hands were still in his hair, even though they clearly weren’t. He cringed, and paced back and forth on the grass beneath him, but the sound of his footsteps was loud. Too loud. He couldn’t think, even though his thoughts raced loudly through his mind like nascars on asphalt. Tangling themselves in his mind and he couldn’t think and he couldn’t breathe and- _

_ What was  _ happening  _ to him? He had been fine before, why wasn’t he now?  _

_ A hand grasped his shoulder. He screamed and jumped back, landing on his rear in the grass. Now his hands were touching grass and he could feel each blade like it was cutting into his palm and everything hurt- _

_ “Cuz’? Wha- What’s goin’ on? I’m...I’m glad I’m not the only one freakin’ out over here, but- What  _ happened??  _ Where’s Hero?” _

_ Hero. Oh, gods  _ Hero.

_ He scrambled to his feet and ran towards where the door should be. But the only thing there was an expanse of sky and grass and a couple trees. Where before there had just been white. Blinding white.  _

_ He slowed to a stop, eyes dancing wildly around the scene. His eyes burned and he felt his nose begin to run as he dropped to his knees. A hot tear rolled down his cheek. Then another. Then another.  _

_ “She’s gone.” _

_ “What?” _

_ “Hero’s  _ gone,  _ Dial!” He screamed. Standing back up and balling his hands into fists. His nails dug so deep into his palms that they still left marks afterward. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. She’s gone and-“ He hiccuped. Followed by a sob that tore through his throat and racked his whole body.  _

_ Dial grabbed his cousin by the shoulders, and pulled him into a hug.  _

_ He somehow didn’t mind.  _


	5. Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you say to the man that lied to you? That killed “you”? That whisked you away to a story that was never yours?
> 
> Do you forgive him? Can you ever?

Julienne leaned her hands on her knees as she slumped on the couch. Rounding her usually ram-rod posture with worry, and bringing a fist up to her mouth. 

Click was  _ here.  _ In their  _ house.  _

Though she hadn’t exactly crossed paths with him many times, she did remember hearing RGB’s (albeit dramatic) retellings of their run-ins. And that one time she was even interrogated for information on where he was. It felt like she was staring right down that barrel again. 

How did he get here?  _ Why  _ was he here in the first place? What on Earth  _ happened _ that convinced RGB to bring him into their home?? Let alone help him out at all in the first place.

Her thoughts were cut short by a twangy southern accent. 

“Well if it isn’t the prima ballerina! What can I do ya for-“ His sentence thinned and dissipated as soon as he saw her features creased with worry. Buckling under what had to be some pretty heavy thoughts. 

“Are...you okay?” He sat down next to her on the couch and mimicked her pose as he leaned forward to get a better look at her face.

She said nothing. Didn’t even look at him. Should she tell him? I mean, he  _ did  _ work with Her, and therefore Click at some point. Maybe he would know what to do?

“...Do you remember...Click, at all?”

“Huh?  _ Ohhhh  _ Tin Can!! Sure, I remember him plenty!  _ Hoo-ey _ he sure was a spitfire!” He smacked a knee, but shrank back down under the weight of Julienne’s mood. “What’s got you thinkin’ ‘bout him? Worried he’ll come back? I assure you, he’s looooong gone. Like, cast into the sea, gone.”

“Oh? He was, was he? Then why is he  _ in our house?” _

Dial blinked.

“...Huh?”

“RGB came back with not only Hero, but  _ Click,  _ Dial. And he looked...weird.”

“Human-?”

“-No. Well, yes, technically. But he appeared as though he were in pain?”

“...Oh. Well, was he hurt? I mean, She can do a real number on ya, lemme tell you.”

“Not physically, it seemed. More like…”

“Like when  _ we  _ first got here? All funky and whatnot?”

“Precisely!”

“And he’s in  _ here?  _ Like,  _ right now?” _

“So it seems.”

He leaned back into the couch cushions. Eyes widening and staring into space as the realization finally solidified in his mind. Wrapping his hands around it, and turning it over in his brain in wonder. 

“...Oh the others are  _ not  _ going to like this.”

————————

“I’m scared.”

“That’s okay! It’s okay to be scared! But you can do it, I promise! Once you get it over with, it’ll all be okay again!” 

Hero tugged at Click’s arm, pulling him toward the door. After he had confirmed that he was okay, they all stood up to leave and get everything sorted. Until Click really thought about what was about to happen. All those looks. The whispers that would float about and hang uncomfortably in the air. 

RGB placed a hand on the doorknob, and looked at Click. Who took a breath, and nodded. 

He squinted at the light as soon as he began to descend the staircase, RGB and Hero right in front of him. The little girl kept a hand back to hold onto one of Click’s. 

Julienne and Dial stood up at the sight of him. Click stiffened into a solid wood board. Unmoving. They all locked eyes with each other. Communicating silently. 

_ Is that him? Oh it’s most definitely him oh no- _

_ Well at least the guys’ not hurt… _

_ Oh dear heavens this is about to go very poorly.  _

_ It’ll be okay. I know it will! They just need to talk.  _

_...They’re going to kill me.  _

Julienne sank back into the couch, signaling with a hand for the three of them to sit in the adjacent one by the window. RGB made a conscious effort to place himself between Click and Hero. 

“Uhhh...Hey there?” Dial smiled at Click, but it came across more as a wince than anything. 

Click stared at him. A tight coil of tension formed like a compressed spring in the room. “Hello...Dial?” 

“Righto!”

“And, and Julienne,” his eyes flitted to the poised presence next to Dial, “Right?” 

She nodded soberly.

Click opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again. Looking to the floorboards for the right thing to say. Instead, Julienne started for him. 

“What happened? Why haven’t we seen you up until now? Where  _ were  _ you-?”

“One question at a time, Julienne.” RGB said. 

“Well forgive me for being at least a  _ little  _ put off by his sudden appearance! And  _ him  _ of all people! Am I not allowed to be at the very least skeptical?”

“I never said that. He just got here, and he clearly needs some time to adjust.”

“I can speak for myself, tellyman.” Click finally piped up. 

“My mistake. I just thought, well you’re new and I wanted to-“

“I’m  _ fine.  _ I’m not a child, and  _ don’t  _ need your pity.” 

RGB cleared his throat and tugged nervously at the color of his shirt. “Very well. Continue.”

The air was suddenly much thicker than it was before. Which they didn’t even think was possible. 

“I was with Hate. Or, well- she kept me there. I think it was some sort of punishment. But, she finally died, I was released here.” 

“So, like, Hate jail?”

“...No, nothing like that place.”

“No, not literally, I meant she was keeping you hostage, right?”

Click paused, then nodded. 

“Are...are you okay? After all that?”

“I said I’m  _ fine.”  _ Click raised his voice, causing Julienne to look over her shoulder to check if anyone had heard. 

“You’re clearly not-“ RGB reached a hand out as if to put it on his shoulder, but quickly retracted it as he cut him off. 

“Bold of  _ you  _ to say! All you did was lie through your teeth!”

“...In my defense I literally did not have teeth-“ RGB’s pitiful attempt to lighten the mood quickly soured. 

Click shot up from the couch, standing in front of RGB now, and grabbed him by the collar with a trembling hand. 

“You  _ lied! You told me it was going to be okay! You told me you were fine, you told me I could save that world!  _ When you’re not lying, you can’t seem to stop yourself from  _ dancing around the truth!  _ Omission, Restructuring, Exaggeration, Minimization, Denial, _ You name it!” _

Everyone else was standing in the doorway now. Keeping Assok at the back. 

RGB had never looked so small before. 

“I was trying to  _ help,  _ I- _ ” _

Click released him, shoving him back against the couch. 

“A lot of good that did us.” 

RGB suddenly looked at least 10 years older. His features as pale as his shirt. His hands gripped his pants at some desperate attempt to keep his composure. Eyes fogged up with emotion. 

“...I’m  _ sorry.  _ I’m so,  _ so sorry. _ And I know that doesn’t fix anything. I failed you.  _ All _ of you. At some point or another. And I’m  _ sorry.  _ Please, I just- I want to  _ fix it.  _ I-I want to help you. I wish I had never asked. I wish I hadn’t been so...so-“

“Dumb.”

“Arrogant.”

“Stubborn.”

RGB squeezed his eyes shut. Like a dam, containing the tears that burned behind his eyes. “Precisely. And, if there’s anything I can do to fix it.  _ Anything at all,”  _ He was looking at Hero now. Who gazed back up at him with big, brown eyes that seemed to break his heart in two with an ice pick. His voice was suddenly pinched thin. “Even if it...if it includes  _ leaving.  _ If you’d rather not have me around, I’d understand completely.”

The words ricocheted off their minds. As if all their thoughts had merged into a collective, chaotic cavern. Hooking them all by the backs of their shirts by a slim bamboo cane back. Back into a memory. One they all seemed to share. 

_ “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry…” _

_ “Oh my gods- oh no. Oh no no  _ no no please no no  _ I’m so  _ sorry…”

_ “No, I-I didn’t mean for it to end up like this! No, no, come on, stay with me, I know you can do it, I’m so sorry, I’m so  _ so sorry….”

_ “I’m so sorry, cousin, come on. Come back, I’m sorry, I- Just, please wake up…” _

_ “Click? Click it’s okay, everything's okay. You’re gonna be okay, I promise. What?...Me? Oh, I’m fine! I’m fine! And you’re gonna be too, okay? Keep your eyes open, you hear me? You’re gonna make it out of this…” _

“We don’t want you to leave, dummy.” Tailor made their way through the door frame. 

“We...we forgive you.  _ Have  _ forgiven you. For a long time. Or, at least I did.” Tinker whispered. 

The others nodded in agreement. 

Julienne rubbed at her thighs. “You were trying to save a dying world. That doesn’t mean the methods you used were exactly...the  _ best,  _ but...we understand.” 

RGB somehow became even smaller. “You...you  _ do?” _

A warm weight shifted its way into his hand. A small, brown one that just barely took up the space of his palm. Tears clouded his vision as he finally looked back down at the girl. 

“I forgive you.”

One managed to spill over as it ran down his cheek. He couldn’t bring himself to even look Click in the eye when he began to speak. 

“...I don’t understand. And, I may not for a while. Just- I can’t forgive you. Not yet.” 

RGB nodded. 

“But, maybe someday. I doubt it, but, possibly. Just...not now.”

“You don’t have to  _ ever  _ forgive me. I understand.”

Click closed his eyes, and nodded back. Releasing a huff through his nose. 

Hero squeezed RGB’s hand. 

RGB squeezed back. 


	6. Negative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams don’t agree with RGB. And apparently, now they seem to have a bone to pick with Hero.

RGB saw no point in continuing to count how many nights he had the same dream. As he said, dreams  _ really  _ didn’t seem to agree with him. 

_ ————————— _

_ He stood on a stage. Cameras with blinding flash lit up the faceless crowd like a strobe light. Rhythmic stomping. Then the chanting. It almost sounded like music if you listened closely. Albeit quite haunting and unsettling. He could never quite make out what they were saying. Only that they thought he wasn’t good enough. They needed more. Harder stunts. Funnier punchlines. Better singing. Their thoughts projected themselves into his mind, clear as day.  _

_ The faintest sound of water droplets. Getting ever louder. Ever closer. He knew the stage had only sprung a leak, but it made his hands go cold and his teeth clench. He set his jaw, swallowing hard. _

_ Another water droplet. It landed on his head and for a second there was nothing. No sensation. Not even the waters’ usually icy touch.  _

_ Then came the hissing pain that seared where the drop landed. A slight buzzing could be heard just below the crowds’ angry chant. Another drop. A jolt of electricity shot through him, sending him to the floor. He clutched his head as the droplets became more and more frequent. Until it seemed to be a constant stream. Like a faucet from the ceiling.  _

_ The crowd began to cheer.  _

_ His entire body couldn’t seem to stop shivering and trembling with static. His hands no longer clasped a head, but a tv. Closing around the plastic casing with such desperation one would be afraid it might crack.  _

_ The hole in the ceiling caved. Opening up to a sea of water. It engulfed him, filling the theatre in half a second, and surrounding him in the colors that poured out of his screen, along with the occasional flashing sparks.  _

_ A single, monochrome eye shot open.  _

_ ——————— _

Every night, without fail. And every time, he would wake up gasping and trembling. He would feel for his face, half expecting a tv screen to be in its place. But it was just him. It always was. He sunk back down against the headrest, silently pondering whether or not he should get up again. No way he was going back to sleep. So, up it was. 

He crept past Dial’s room. They had all agreed that it was safest to set Click up there on an air mattress for the time being. So RGB was significantly more careful than he had been previously on his quest downstairs. 

A sound pierced the still air of night. He stopped just before the staircase, lifting his hand off the rail as he listened. Right as he was about to convince himself that it was just the wind whipping against the house, it came again. It sounded almost like a sob. Muffled words he couldn’t make out followed right after. 

The source led him to Hero and Assok’s room. He peered in, and found Hero tossing and turning in her bed. Assok right next to her, trying to shake her awake. To no avail. 

He immediately found himself acting on instinct. Kneeling next to Assok, who retracted their hands and looked desperately up at their guide. RGB continued the action for them. 

“Hero? Hero, wake up.” He whispered. 

Hero’s thrashing seemed to grow more intense. Drowning in a sea of sheets. She was going to hurt herself if she didn’t stop. RGB took her by both shoulders in some attempt to steady her, and spoke with more clarity. 

“Hero, it’s just a dream, wake up.”

Another sob escaped the little girl. “No! No, please, don’t go! Stop-“

“Hero!”

She awoke with a gasp, throwing the sheets off of herself. Her eyes flitted slowly over to RGB and Assok next to her. She brought her knees to her chest. 

“...Sorry for waking you guys up.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I was already awake, anyways.”

“Oh.”

Assok scrambled up the bed and sat themself next to Hero. RGB sat on the edge on the other side of her. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She wiped her eyes with a sleeve. “Uhm...It was kinda the same as last night’s. Except, instead of what actually happened, we had failed. And, and Hate was about to kill you. And someone was holding me back and they were about to hurt you and...yeah.” Hero huffed, sinking further into her knees. “...It sucked.”

“It sure sounds like it did.”

“Mm.”

RGB studied her for a moment. She looked exhausted, but her half lidded eyes seemed distant, clouded with fear. He extended an arm, and they both accepted the invitation. Assok scooted around in front of Hero so she could hug them from behind while she nestled herself under RGB’s arm. 

“...Do you ever remember? Y’know, Negative?”

“Hmm?”

“In my dream, you kept going all Negative every time they tried to kill you. I think they did, but you just kept coming back as… as  _ him _ .” She closed one eye and pointed at the open one.

Oh.  _ Oh.  _ The image from his own dream simmered in his mind now. The monochrome eye that never seemed to want to leave every time he closed his eyes again. Burned into the backs of his eyelids. 

“I mean, you told me about it, yes. But I don’t think I ever really  _ remember  _ what went on when he was... _ there _ .” He looked at his hands. The lack of light made them look almost grey. 

Grey. Black and white. 

Negative. 

————————-

_ Hero knelt on the ground. Shaking feverishly and clasping a hand over her mouth as what was once RGB stood in front of her. Now all black and white.  _

_ Terrifying.  _

_ He looked back at her as soon as the threat had either slunk away, or been torn to shreds. This one, had just thrown her into the water. RGB, of course, jumped in after her. The hesitation before doing so had really only been a few seconds. But to him, it felt like hours. Staring down into the murky depths which she had been dragged into. Then dove head first.  _

_ It hurt. By  _ gods  _ it hurt. As soon as the water first brushed his skin the electric current tore through him, causing him to freeze for a second before barely regaining some semblance of composure and looking down.  _

_ He saw her, but barely through the thick murk. Getting dragged down by the ankles. He took his cane, and swam down after her. She grabbed onto it, and he pulled. Pulled her as hard as he could. A snap could be heard as whatever had latched onto her legs finally broke. Everything began to fade.  _

_ A single eye looked back at her as he threw her over onto the shore, then hoisted himself up. A gloved hand reached out for her. She squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting the worst.  _

_ The hand landed gently on her head. She opened one eye. Then the other as she looked up at him, hesitant.  _

_ His eye scanned over her diligently. Eyeing any scrapes and bruises, assumingly looking to see if she was too badly injured. His hand retracted, and a staticky sigh escaped him. One of relief.  _

_ Hero cocked her head at him. He...didn’t hurt her? She was sure he was going to, but now he just sat in front of her. Eye closed, and hands retreated into his lap peacefully.  _

_ She crawled over, and poked his screen experimentally. He flinched, and opened his eye, causing Hero to flinch as well. They both relaxed, and Hero sat back down.  _

_ “...Who are you?” _

_ The tellyman thought for a second. Then shrugged.  _

_ ——————— _

Everytime that had happened, everytime he got killed, they somehow made it out. After Hero had gotten the chance to tell him, he almost wanted to say a “thank you” to the other version of himself. 

That would be significantly harder in this world than the last. And the last proved substantially so. So he eventually gave up on thinking about it too much. Shrugging it off like a weighted overcoat. 

RGB still looked at the two kids next to him. He carded a hand through Hero’s hair as the three of them sat in the quiet of midnight. The distant humming choir of crickets and cicadas crescendoed outside the window. 

_ Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop.  _

He glanced back at the window. Hero eyed him as he stared at the small raindrops racing down the glass. The rain began to build in frequency, and he found himself squeezing Hero and Assok more than he intended. 

“Are you okay?”

“Areyoo okeee?” 

RGB finally tore his eyes away from the rain. “Hmm? Oh, I’m just fine!”

“I know you don’t like water still, so it’s okay to be afraid.”

The man opened his mouth to deny it, but gave up upon realizing that it would be a blatant lie. 

“Thank you, Hero-“

Lightning danced across the sky, followed by a loud crack of thunder that seemed to make the house shudder. They all curled up tighter. 

RGB’s face suddenly lit up with an idea. Both literally from the lightning, and metaphorically.

“I say! Do you two know how to build a pillow fort?”

Hero thought for a moment, then shook her head. Assok gaped at her. 

“Know pilloh fort?” 

“Nope, I guess not.”

“Well then, this is a perfect learning opportunity! Come on, follow me.”


End file.
